Recently, in the field of displays such as televisions using liquid crystal panels, 3D displays capable of providing 3D images have been developed in order to achieve high performance. In such 3D displays, a stereoscopic image can be displayed, for example, so that an image for the right eye is viewed by a viewer using the right eye, and an image for the left eye is viewed by a viewer using the left eye.
Various types of 3D displays for displaying 3D images can be used, and a lenticular lens-type, a parallax barrier-type, and the like are known as types that do not require special eyeglasses.
As one of display types in which a viewer wears eyeglasses to view 3D images, a circularly polarized light glasses-type, etc., is known (see Patent Document 1, for example).
In a circularly polarized light glasses-type 3D display, a retardation member is generally disposed on a display device for forming an image, such as a liquid crystal panel. In this retardation member, a plurality of each of two types of retardation regions having different retardation characteristics from each other are regularly arranged, thereby forming a retardation member that is patterned. Hereinafter, in the present invention, a retardation member that is patterned such that a plurality of retardation regions having different retardation characteristics are arranged therein is referred to as a patterned retardation member.
For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, a patterned retardation member can be fabricated by optically patterning a retardation material composed of polymerizable liquid crystals. In the optical patterning of a retardation material composed of polymerizable liquid crystals, a known photo-alignment technique for forming an aligning member for a liquid crystal panel is used. More specifically, a coating film made of a photo-aligning material is provided on a substrate, and the coating film is irradiated with two types of polarized beams having different polarization directions. A photo-alignment film is then obtained as an aligning member in which two types of liquid crystal alignment regions having different liquid crystal alignment control directions are formed. A retardation material containing polymerizable liquid crystals in a solution state is applied onto this photo-alignment film to align the polymerizable liquid crystals. Subsequently, the aligned polymerizable liquid crystals are cured to form a patterned retardation member.
An acrylic resin, a polyimide resin, or the like, which has a photodimerized moiety, such as a cinnamoyl group or a chalcone group, in a side chain, is known as a photo-aligning material that can be used in the formation of an aligning member using a photo-alignment technique for liquid crystal panels. It has been reported that these resins exhibit the ability to control alignment of liquid crystals (hereinafter also referred to as liquid crystal alignment properties) by being irradiated with polarized UV (see Patent Documents 3-5).